Act responsibly, get results
By M.R. Pai

THE beginning of consumer activism is to realise the responsibilities of consumers. That is the moral platform from which one can fight.

The first responsibility is to make specific complaints and not general ones. The complaint should be supported by adequate and accurate information and a written proof, such as a bill, whenever it is available. For instance, do not cry the train was late by hours, but give scheduled time of departure, and actual departure time, and whether there was proper announcement of delay over radio or TV or at station over loudspeakers. The proof of journey in terms of a ticket helps. In every situation, the more accurate and correct information a consumer gives in his complaint, the more effective it becomes.

The second responsibility is for the consumer to understand the problems faced by the person on the other side. The vendor may have genuine problems, and it is necessary to appreciate them before rushing in to complain. However, cock and bull stories or vague excuses from vendors should not be accepted.

The third important responsibility of the consumer is to cooperate with the vendor of goods or services in some situation. A typical example is a bus passenger. During peak hours there is a rush and an orderly queue is the obvious answer to help everyone. One reason the transport problem in Mumbai is relatively easy is the habit of passengers to form queues. This system still subsists although it is weakening under pressures of a growing metro population.

The fourth responsibility of the consumer is to behave in a democratic manner, and not resort to extra-constitutional methods which have become the unfortunate norm of public life in our country. The reference here is to rasta roko, satyagraha, dharna, and bandh etc. These are ways of expressing one’s dissatisfaction, or drawing attention of the authorities or the public at large to one’s problems. However, their effect is to disrupt life for others who have nothing to do with the grievance of the organisers.

For instance, in a rasta roko, people who have to visit patients in hospitals within prescribed hours, or passengers who have to reach bus terminals, railway stations or airports to catch a bus or train or flight, are made to suffer for no fault of theirs. In fighting for one’s rights, however legitimate they are, innocent people should not be made to suffer. As soon as that happens, one’s moral right to protest is automatically forfeited.

There is another consideration. Satyagraha or fasting till death has lost credibility in public eyes over the years. The public has become sceptical of such remonstrances. The popular joke is that people who indulge in such theatrical gestures put on weight at the end of the fast, having eaten a lot of food in a clandestine manner at night: Many of these fasts upto death are broken ceremoniously in front of a dignitary, with a cameraman in tow!

This author has come across only three cases of genuine anna satyagrahis who carried out to the logical conclusion their announced intention. One was Potti Sriramulu who died a martyr for the cause of the creation of the Andhra State, another a humble social worker in Vidarbha and, third, a prisoner in a Goa prison.

The fifth responsibility of the consumer is not to attack individuals who are incumbents of posts but to fight a system to set it right. For instance, if there is malfunctioning of the Railways, do not attack the General Manager by name.

Of course, he is ultimately responsible, but as a consumer you want to see that the system functions properly in public interest. The common remedy which politicians resort to in face of public protest is to transfer the official. The new incumbent may be equally helpless and the suffering of the consumers will continue!

Keeping these responsibilities in mind, if consumers fight for their rights with constitutional methods, they are bound to get results.